


Crimson Scales

by hardbroken17



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bottom Keith (Voltron), Cuddling & Snuggling, First Meetings, Flirty Lance, Heavy Petting, Human Coran (Voltron), Human Hunk (Voltron), Human Lance (Voltron), Human/Mermaid Keith, Hunk (Voltron) is so Pure, Hybrid Keith (Voltron), Keith acts like a cat, Keith’s ears are his weak spot, Lance likes to scratch Keith’s ears, Love Confessions, Love at First Sight, M/M, Purring Keith (Voltron), Sassy Pidge | Katie Holt, Shy Keith (Voltron), Smut, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Space Uncle Coran (Voltron), Top Lance (Voltron), mermaid Pidge, mermaid au, mermaid keith, mermaid shiro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:20:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29552715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hardbroken17/pseuds/hardbroken17
Summary: Lance is on a walk one day and spies something in the water and he is naturally intrigued.Keith had always been told by Shiro not to visit the surface, but he just wanted to feel the sun. It wasn’t his fault he swam right into a net.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I love mermaid AUs
> 
> Enjoy

Lance McClain enjoyed taking walks along the shoreline, it was a place where he liked to watch the waves crash down on the sand. On weekends, he decided to explore a little more than he usually did.

Climbing down the rocks to the beach, Lance began to sweat, dripping down his forehead and to his chin. Going over one last rock, Lance grunted, looking up and gasped at what he saw in the sea shallows.

It was a man, or something that looked like a man. He was covered in something black and netted, but that was the least of Lance’s concerns. 

Red, ripe red was blossoming over his pale skin. It made Lance feel terrible and drove him towards the man. 

As Lance got closer however, he noticed that after the man’s belly button, he didn’t have legs. With only a few feet away from him, Lance stopped dead in his tracks as he saw a tail flopping behind the man in the water.

He was a merman!

Lance had discovered a live merman, even though he thought that there was no such thing. 

But it was far too important for Lance to think about this merman’s safety and health than it was, to squeal over a mythical creature. 

He came closer and right when Lance’s foot hit the wet sand beside the merman, he snapped his head to Lance and hissed lowly. Baring his pearly white fanged teeth at the human. 

Lance was mesmerized, there was no other way to put what he felt when he looked into the eyes of this merman. He was all pale skin, clinging to every inch of strong muscle. 

His sides were rippled with gills, three on each side of his body, heaving in the air, the dark red scales shimmering in the light. 

These scales matched his tail, and Lance hadn’t even begun to focus on his tail or fins yet. He was still so entranced by the merman’s upper body that was so unmistakably human. 

The merman had also stopped hissing, and his eyes were more human, his pupils had become less fishlike, and more like a human’s eyes. He was staring at Lance, while flexing his hands in the seawater. 

Lance went to move closer to him, and the merman shifted away, an expression of fear on his beautiful face. Lance went closer to him, careful in his movements and knelt down, his face only a few inches apart from the merman’s face, his jawline pointed and cute little nose, his lips pink and plump.

”It’s ok, I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.”

Lance said and held his hands up, his thumbs nearly touching his cheekbones, his eyes focused on the merman. He watched as the merman looked up at him, eyes searching his face and silently pleading for help. 

“H-help me. It hu-hurts, n-net.”

The merman whimpered and Lance’s eyes went wide and he noticed the net again, and that it was wrapped tightly around the merman’s gorgeous and long tail.

”Shh, don’t move and don’t worry. I’ll get you out of this. I promise.”

He said and reached towards the merman’s tail, and the black net that trapped it. 

The merman hissed softly as Lance touched the net and began to tug. The net gradually began to untangle from the tail, only to make it tighter in another part. Lance soon grew mildly frustrated and began digging around in his pocket, the merman watching him shyly, his eyes still fearful, but also interested and in wonder. 

“Don’t hurt me for this, because the more I try to untangle one part, you get more tangled and this is my only solution.”

Lance said to the merman who tilted his head in confusion at the human who was knee deep and kneeling in warm Hawaiian seawater, holding the material of a net around his tail. 

“Hold still, I’m going to use my knife to cut your tail free.”

Lance said and the merman turned his attention to the blade in Lance’s hand. His eyes blew wide in fear and he hissed loudly, baring his teeth at Lance and trying to shift away from the human’s knife. 

“Hey hey hey, just hold still and trust me ok? I’m just going to cut the net off of your tail. I won’t touch your tail, I promise.”

He said and when the merman heard the words ‘I promise’ he relaxed more as every time Lance had said that, he had kept his word. The merman came closer to Lance and raised a hand, touching Lance’s hand without the knife in it and Lance looked down at his hand, and then back up. 

“You promise?”

He asked and to Lance, his voice was like music, so soft and sweet but with a little of fierceness. He noticed the merman’s hands were clawed, and webbed with crimson skin connecting each finger with the softest skin. 

Lance turned his hand over and clasped the merman’s hand in his own, lifting it up to his mouth. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of the merman’s knuckles and smiled at him. 

“I promise.”

He said and the merman looked away, his face flushing in a soft shade of pink, that made his gorgeous scales stand out against his pale skin. 

‘Oh my god, he looks so cute when he blushes. Wait, no Lance, stop letting your bi show and help him!’

Lance scolded his thoughts and lowered his hand holding the merman’s hand and turned his attention to the net, and flipped open his knife. The merman tended and squeezed Lance’s other hand as he did this. 

“Hey, it’s ok. Just breathe in and out and only focus on that. It will be over before you know it.”

He said and the merman nodded, slowly taking breaths. Lance guided his hand to his leg and the merman grasped his knee as he calmed himself down. Lance then pulled up some of the net and began to cut.

Thank god that the net was already a little worn down and it made the cutting of it a little bit easier. Lance had cut the merman free in no time and put away his knife. 

When he was done, Lance grasped the cut ends of the net and flung them out on either side of the merman’s tail. Once the net was gone and untangled from the tail and fins, Lance could properly admire the gorgeous tail. 

It was long and slender, well built like the merman in muscle and strength. The scales were larger and rougher closer to where his thighs would be and they seemed more delicate where his tail began to change to soft human skin. The scales were all iridescent shades of red, but darker, like crimson and the sides of it had small fins that twitched and fluttered every so often. They were more see through, just like his mono fin at the end of his tail.

It was a deep shade of crimson and Lance could see silver like yellow and bright red in the middle of it, where it was transparent. The fins on his back were small and didn’t stick out as much and were the darkest part of him, aside from his pitch black hair. They were the darkest crimson and almost purple, starting at the middle of his waist and ending where his knees would be if he had legs. 

The merman moved, and Lance was pulled out of his staring at the angelic crimson tail. He looked up at Lance and the human gazed into his eyes. They were beautiful, more beautiful than any other pair he had ever seen, a deep violet, with bright specks in them that screwed with Lance’s head. His cheekbones were decorated with delicate scales that were such a pale red that they almost blended with his blushing face. 

“Th-Thank you for s-s-saving me. How c-can I repay you?”

The merman asked Lance, daring a glance at the human. Lance looked down at the merman and reached a hand to his face, tucking a lock of black hair behind his pointed and furry ear. The merman’s hair reached past his jawline and stuck to his neck. If it was dry, Lance was sure that he would have the cutest mullet, even though Lance couldn’t stand those people who had mullets, he thought that this merman rocked it.

”You want to repay me for saving you?”

He asked and the merman nodded his head. Lance smiled and stroked the side of the merman’s face, his fingers behind his ear. The merman shuddered and his side fins began to twitch and flap around in the water. 

“You don’t need to do that. I did what anyone would have done. Everyone deserves to live and be free, no matter what they are.”

Lance said and the merman’s eye went wide, and he blinked a few times as Lance kept stroking his face. 

The merman’s throat seemed to start vibrating, Lance didn’t notice it at first until he felt the merman push his head closer to Lance’s lap and he felt the vibrations on his thigh, and heard the sound of purring start to grow louder, as he continued to rub and scratch behind the merman’s ears that felt a little more furry than scaly. 

“Hey, are you purring?”

Lance asked and instantly that purring stopped and the merman looked up, Lance’s hand still buried in his pitch black locks. He blushed a bright red and averted eye contact. 

“No, it’s just something that happens and I can’t control it. It’s involuntary, like heartbeats.”

The merman said and Lance nodded, still with his hand on the merman’s cheek, and slowly rubbing his scales on his face with care. 

“I get it man, but it was really cute like you were a little kitten who liked to be pet.”

He said and the merman blushed, looking down at Lance’s feet in the water. 

“Do you want me to keep going?”

Lance asked and the merman looked up, leaning his head into Lance’s chest, letting the human stroke his head, only to have Lance not do anything. He whined and looked back at the human who was looking up at the cliffs and at the horizon. 

“Are you ok human?”

He asked and Lance looked back down at him, his face going from worried and unsure to caring and even as he looked at the merman.

”I just checked the time and it’s getting late. I have to get home before my roommate gets worried about where I got to. I’m really sorry.”

He said and the merman drooped, before brightening again and coming close to Lance. 

“Can you bring me with you?”

He asked and Lance shook his head, running his fingers through the merman’s soft and silky hair. 

“Sorry Kitten, I think that my roommate would go nuts if he saw me carry a mermaid into the apartment and put you in the bathtub. You have to stay I the ocean where you’re safe.”

He said as the merman blushed from Lance calling him ‘Kitten’ only to have his face fall when Lance told him that he couldn’t come with him. 

“Will you come back?”

He asked and Lance shrugged, constantly looking at the time. 

“I don’t know Kitten, but I’ll try ok?”

He said and the merman seemed happy, his lips twitching up and eyes brightening. He lunged up and his arms wrapped around Lance. 

“I’ll be waiting here every day-um,”

He said and trailed off, Lance realizing that he hadn’t told the crimson scaled merman his name. 

“If you wanted to know my name gorgeous, it’s Lance.”

He said and the merman smiled shyly and nodded, trying the name out on his lips. 

“Lance. It suits you.”

He said and slipped down and a little bit away from Lance. His tail swayed in the water and Lance started to stand up, but remembered that he was soaked from the waist down. 

Oh god, I’m soaked. Fuck, now I have to walk home all wet.”

Lance groaned and the merman tilted his head to the side at Lance, who crouched down again, this time on the rocks, so that he didn’t get even more wet from the water. 

“Can you dry water kitten? Like so that I can go home without soaked jeans and I don’t have to explain myself to my roommate.”

Lance asked and the merman looked down at the human’s legs, where his jeans were wet and stuck to his skin and reached out, placing his hand on Lance’s left leg. He focused on the water and soon, steam was floating out of the jeans and into the air. 

Lance watched in awe as the merman dried his pants until it was over and they were dry like nothing had ever happened in the first place. 

The merman took his hand away and it plopped back into the water with a small splash that made Lance’s shoes only a little wet. 

“Wow, I had no idea that mermaids could do that. Well, up until a few hours ago I thought that they were just a myth.”

Lance said and smiled at the merman, who looked a little confused. 

“Thank you so much kitten. I have to go but I’ll be back. I’ll see you again.”

He said and the merman reached out, and they met at their hands, Lance’s clasped in the merman’s soft yet firm grip. 

“Promise Lance?”

He asked and Lance smiled, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. His lips lingered for a few seconds before pulling back only an inch and whispering into the merman’s furry ear. 

“Te promento mi amor.”

Lance whispered and pulled back, and a soft blush was spread over his face. The merman smiled shyly through his own blush as Lance began to walk away, over the rocks of the cliffs and back to the human world. 

The merman watched him go and placed his fingers gently over his forehead, where Lance had kissed him and smiled, waiting and watching Lance go until he couldn’t see the human anymore. Once he vanished over the cliffs the merman reluctantly pushed himself off of the sandy shore and retreated to the shallows.

He watched the shore once more, scanning it for any trace of that tan skin and brown hair before sighing and plunging back into the sea.

Lance got back home that night and opened the door. He found Hunk on the couch and smiled at his friend who had made him dinner that was on the coffee table. 

“Where were you Lance? Your walks have never taken that long, did you find someone?”

Hunk asked and Lance shrugged, thinking about the beautiful merman. His face, eyes, his soft and silky hair and how it felt threading his fingers through it. How his tail shimmered in the light and his his side fins twitched when Lance pet him. His purring when he got scratched behind his ears and how his ears were so furry. 

Lance smiled and sat down next to Hunk, picking up his plate and starting to prod at the food before taking a bite of it and looking over at Hunk.

”Kinda, just got a little busy down at the beach. Saw a pretty cool mer-er seashell.”

Lance said, catching himself from saying merman and instead saying seashell. Hunk shrugged and didn’t seem to mind his friend’s answer. Lance settled in and thought about his merman, and since he didn’t know his name, he decided to call him kitten. 

Tomorrow couldn’t come quickly enough for Lance. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drop me a comment and let me know what you think 🤔


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Keith wanted to do was feel the sun on his back, and even though Shiro always kept telling him that it was dangerous, Keith didn’t care. 
> 
> He went to the surface anyway but didn’t count on swimming into a net, nor did he count on meeting a human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith’s POV on the meeting. 
> 
> I did Lance first and now it’s only fair that I do Keith.

Keith loved to swim, the feel of the water working with him as he propelled through it. He especially loved the water at the surface, all warm and inviting with all the best things. 

He woke up in his cove and found the sun shining down through the opening of the cove. Keith had lived in the cove next to his brother Shiro, for years. Shiro was a sharkmer with a large fin on his back and the sharpest teeth in the entire ocean. 

Keith stretched his limbs and his tail flapped around his seaweed bed. He looked around, small amounts of bubbles flowing out of his nose as he sighed and floated up. He swam over to the rocks that had become like shelves for him, with his sea blade from his mother, and some fruits from the sea. He took a bite of the fruit and ran his fingers through his hair. 

He sharpened his claws on the edge of the cove rocks, right as Shiro swam into his cove. Keith’s ears twitched as the fuzzies on his ears floated. His long hair floated in a small Afro around him until he saw Shiro. 

“Hey Keith, are you alright?”

The sharkmer asked and his smaller brother nodded, swimming to the rocks on the outside of his cove. He wiggled around and alighted on the smooth surface of the rock. 

“I’m fine Shiro, just wondering what I’m going to do today.”

Keith said and Shiro nodded, letting his brother go. Keith watched his brother swim away and around the corner, and when he was gone, Keith bolted. He swam away from his cove and up to the sea surface. 

He came up and his black hair was plastered to his forehead. Keith pushed his hair out of his face and looked around, finding himself close to one of his favorite tropical islands, where he saw humans coming and going in ships, and flying things that Pidge, Keith’s siren friend told him were planes and helicopters. 

Keith smiled at the cove and shallow waters by the island and started to swim closer to the beach. He always loved to explore the beach and collect sand dollars and conches from the beach and this was the best beach to do this. He would keep them in a small sea cave that had an underwater entrance and an above surface entrance that he knew humans had never come into and would never find.

He swam close to an enclosure of rocks and a sandy shore, before starting to haul himself over the sand, to search for the shells. Keith had no idea that he was tangled in a net until he had collected a few shells and began to slip back into the ocean. 

“Oh no, you’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Keith whined and began to thrash, and tried to throw the net off. The shells dropped into the water and were forgotten as Keith kept thrashing with the net. 

He heard something next to him and his head snapped up. He bared his fangs and hissed, his teeth long and white while his eyes were reduced to slits as he was hissing. 

His eyes met blue, and all he could see was blue. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen as Keith realized that he was seeing a pair of eyes. Hissing stopped and Keith felt his fangs retract a little, and his eyes grew. It was a human body. One that was standing over Keith and staring at him. He had a tall lean figure, beautiful legs, a lean and muscly figure and arms, and a beautiful tanned face. 

Keith had never seen skin more beautiful, sun kissed and like damp sand, and his eyes even more blue than the sea and the sky. It was Keith’s new favorite color, of this pretty human’s most beautiful blue eyes. 

He flexed his hands under the water as he looked at the human, who was standing over him. Then the human moved, and instead of away, he came closer to Keith. 

Keith got so scared and tried to swim away, but was stopped by the net that was trapping him. He looked back up at the human and he was looking calm and safe. It was weird for Keith, and that he felt oddly safe under the human’s blue gaze. 

“It’s ok, I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.”

The human said and Keith felt a jolt of security and warmth. It seemed that the human’s voice was able to soothe Keith’s fear. The sincerity in his voice was so calming to him. He was still so hurt and wanted to get out of the net, and that it hurt his scales so much, digging into his flesh. 

“H-help me. I-it h-hurts, n-net.”

Keith whimpered as the net dug harder into his tail, and the human looked over at the net that was trapping his tail and fins. 

“Shh, don’t move and don’t worry, I’ll get you out of this, I promise.”

The human reached for the net around Keith’s tail, and out of instinct Keith hissed slowly at him. The human took a deep breath and took hold of the net, and began to tug. Keith watched as he tried to untangle the net from Keith’s tail, and only succeeded in making it tighter on him.

The human grew annoyed and began to dig around in the pockets of his clothes that he had covering his body. Keith had never worn clothes but had found a lot of articles washed up on beaches and left on beaches. It was very interesting to him why humans dressed like that and why they felt the need to cover up. 

Keith knew that mermaids did cover their chests when they grew up with silks and other things that they could find, but sirens like Pidge had long hair and they didn’t bother to cover up. Pidge however was different, as she had short hair and wore a dark green cloth sash that she had found in a shipwreck to cover her chest. 

Keith watched the human world to apprehension and waited for him to finish finding what he was looking for in his clothes.

He looked back at Keith with something in his hand, and searched his face for fear. 

“Don’t hurt me for this, because the more I try to untangle one part, you get more tangled, and this is my only solution .”

He said to Keith, who tilted his head in confusion. He had no idea what the human was about to do as he was knee deep in the water next to him, still gently holding the net. 

“Hold still, I’m going to use my knife, to cut your tail free.”

He said and at those words, Keith saw the blade of the knife. He was instantly afraid, baring his teeth and hissing at the human, trying to get away from him, fear controlling him. 

“Hey hey hey, just hold still and trust me ok? I’m just going to cut the net off of your tail. I won’t touch your tail, I promise.”

The human said and Keith started to relax. The human had said I promise, and that made Keith feel safe, as he had always kept his promise after saying those words. But Keith wanted to make sure that this human was telling him the truth. 

He pulled himself closer to the human and put his hand over the human’s hand that didn’t have the knife clasped in the palm. 

“Promise?”

Keith asked, trying out the new word that the human had used. The human looked down at their hands and before he knew it, Keith felt his hand being lifted up and the human’s hand was holding his. The human lifted Keith’s hand to his lips and pressed them to Keith’s knuckles. He let his lips linger on Keith’s skin for a few moments before he Keith heard him whisper against his skin, his voice calming and deep. 

“I promise.”

Keith looked away from the human as a strange new feeling entered his body, and made him feel strange and warm, his tail fins twitching in interest, as his scales started to shift. 

Keith started to feel his more soft and sensitive scales open and grab around him for something to latch onto, the young mer tried to push it all back in, and before he knew it, his hand was on the human’s thigh and the human was opening his knife again, looking fondly down at Keith. 

“Hey, it’s ok. Just breathe in and out and only focus on that. It will be over before you know it.”

The human said to Keith as he held hard to the thigh, concentrating to get his hormonal scales to close and become his outer rough scales again. Keith nodded to the human who then began to cut the net off of Keith.

The entire time that the human was cutting Keith free, the mer was focusing on breathing and on the angler fish, and how long their teeth were. It distracted him from his slit that was open and searching until it closed and his outer rougher scales covered it and concealed it. 

When the human had flung the net off of Keith’s tail, Keith sighed a silent breath of relief at the action. His slit still hadn’t closed and his side fins were twitching and flapping in his interest. Keith thanked every force when his slit finally closed and he moved, shifting to look up at the human. 

They locked eyes and Keith admired the shade of blue that the human had in his eyes. He was still recovering from a spurt of arousal and his cheeks were still dusted pink because of it. The human looked into his eyes softly and it made Keith feel safe. He knew that he should just swim away and never see the human again, but the human had just saved his life and he knew that he had to repay the human. 

“Th-Thank you for s-s-saving me. How c-can I repay you?”

He asked, his voice breathy from the state of arousal fading from his body, looking up at the human with soft and curious eyes. The human looked down at Keith and out of nowhere to the mer, he reached out a hand and tucked a lock of Keith’s black hair behind his furry and extremely sensitive ear. 

”You want to repay me for saving you?”

The human asked, and Keith nodded his head. The human smiled softly at Keith and began to stroke the side of his face, with two fingers behind Keith’s ear. The mer felt a burst of arousal, warmth, and sensitivity all at once and he shuddered, his side fins twitching and flapping in the water. 

“You don’t need to do that. I did what anyone would have done. Everyone deserves to live and be free, no matter what they are.”

He said and Keith gaped at him, his eyes wide and open to the human, blinking a few times as the human continued to stroke his face and scratch him behind his ear. 

Keith had always known that his ears were sensitive since Shiro had frost tickled him, but he had never let anyone touch him there after he found out that his ears were a vulnerable part of him, but he had never felt someone scratch behind his ears before and it had never felt so _good._

He began to purr his approval, something that he only did when he used to cuddle with Shiro after having a nightmare as a guppy. Keith had forgotten how his whole body vibrated when he purred as he leaned into the human’s lap. He rested his head on the thigh and continued to purr.

The more that the human rubbed his skin and scratched his ears, the more and louder Keith purred, the sound now clearly very loud, and probably heard by the human now. 

“Hey, are you purring?”

He asked and Keith opened his eyes, the purring instantly stopping, and he looked up at the human. The human looked down at him with confusion in his eyes and his hand still threaded in between Keith’s hair. Keith blushed a bright red and looked away from the human, so embarrassed.

“No, it’s just something that happens and I can’t control it. It’s involuntary, like heartbeats.”

He said and felt the human nod his head, his fingers still rubbing on Keith’s cheeks, so tender and sweet. 

“I get it man, but it was really cute like you were a little kitten who liked to be pet.”

The human said, only to make Keith blush even more, and look down at the human feet, so different than Pidge had described human feet as being. Defiantly way different than her description which was pale, pasty, shriveled, and bones peeling up the skin. This was vibrant and alive, so full and strong. 

“Do you want me to keep going?”

The human asked and Keith looked up, and leaned in, his head pressing into the human’s chest, expecting more of that heavenly petting and scratching. Keith was amazed and thankful that his slit hadn’t reopened the entire time he was being pet. He waited for the human to scratch him, only to feel nothing but a hand in his hair. Wondering what was happening, Keith whined and looked up at the human, who was looking at the top of the cliffs. 

“Are you ok human?”

He asked and the human looked down at him, his face going from worried, to caring. 

”I just checked the time and it’s getting late. I have to get home before my roommate gets worried about where I got to. I’m really sorry.”

He said and Keith’s posture dropped at the reality of this human leaving him. But before he could dwell in being alone, another idea came into Keith’s head and he looked up, his face coming closer to the human. 

“Can you bring me with you?”

He asked and the human smiled fondly, shaking his head, and running his fingers through Keith’s black hair, making Keith start to purr.

“Sorry Kitten, I think that my roommate would go nuts if he saw me carry a mermaid into the apartment and put you in the bathtub. You have to stay I the ocean where you’re safe.”

He said and Keith did two things almost at once. When the human called him Kitten, he flushed red but when he was told that he couldn’t come back with the human, his face fell. 

“Will you come back?”

He asked and the human shrugged his shoulders, while constantly looking down at something on his wrist. He looked back at Keith. 

“I don’t know Kitten, but I’ll try ok?”

He said and Keith smiled, his entire being overcome with joy and he lunged, wrapping his arms around the human and burying his face into the human’s warm neck. 

“I’ll be waiting here every day-um,”

He realized that he didn’t even know the human’s name, looking up at him, his mouth slightly open.

“If you wanted to know my name gorgeous, it’s Lance.”

The human, Lance said and Keith smiled, trying out the name on his lips, and looking up at Lance.

“Lance. It suits you.”

He said and started to slip away, going a little further into the water. Keith moved his tail around in the water a little, as Lance stood up, only to look down at his legs and groan. 

“Oh god, I’m soaked. Fuck, now I have to walk home all wet.”

He said and Keith tilted his head in confusion as Lance looked over at him, those blue eyes boring into him, making him feel fuzzy. He crouched down in front of Keith again, but this time he stayed out of the water. 

“Can you dry water kitten? Like so that I can go home without soaked jeans and I don’t have to explain myself to my roommate.”

Lance asked and Keith looked down at his legs, which had blue clothing over them, which was full of water that was definitely making Lance cold. He knew that humans couldn’t survive in water and that they had to be dry on land, and they didn’t like their clothing to be damp or wet. 

Keith did know how to use water to his advantage and he could dry Lance’s pants. He reached out and touched the wet pants, and soon the water was heating up and turning into thick steam, floating away until Lance was completely dry.

Keith took his hand away and plopped back into the shallow water, splashing the tops of Lance’s shoes, things that humans put on their feet, so that they didn’t get hurt. 

“Wow, I had no idea that mermaids could do that. Well, up until a few hours ago I thought that they were just a myth.”

Lance said, and looked down at Keith, who found his words a little confusing, and tilted his body sideways.

“Thank you so much kitten. I have to go but I’ll be back. I’ll see you again.”

Lance said and Keith reached out, grabbing onto Lance’s hands with his own clawed ones.

“Promise Lance?”

He asked and Lance smiled, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. His lips lingered for a few seconds before pulling back only an inch and whispering into Keith’s ear, his voice soft and deep. 

“Te promento mi amor.”

Lance whispered and pulled back, a blush crawling over both of their faces. Keith smiled shyly through his own blush as Lance began to walk away, over the rocks of the cliffs and back to the human world. 

Keith watched him go and placed his fingers gently over his forehead, where Lance had kissed him and smiled, waiting and watching Lance go until he couldn’t see the human anymore. Once he vanished over the cliffs, Keith sighed and reluctantly pushed himself off of the sandy shore and retreated to the shallows.

He watched the shore once more, scanning it for any trace of that tan skin and brown hair before sighing and plunging back into the sea.

Keith swam down and under the sea, further and further away from Lance, ending up back at his cove faster than he expected to. He floated onto his seaweed bed and laid his head down. He thought about the day he had, meeting Lance, getting tangled in a net, getting aroused, purring, and hearing the stranger language that Lance spoke into his ear as he left.

What did it mean? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be in third person


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance had been waiting for over a month to see his Kitten again, never catching the merman at the right time and one day, he sees a really cute guy in his favorite market and thinks his mullet is stupid, until he sees who is wearing it. 
> 
> OR: Keith got tired of waiting for Lance and being half human half mer, went on land to find his human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will explain how the human and mer hybrid thing works 
> 
> Also idk enjoy???
> 
> 🤗🤗🤗

After swimming to the surface and waiting for Lance until well after sunset for two full moon cycles, Keith was just about to give up until Pidge, who was the only one he told about meeting Lance, convinced him otherwise. 

He was swimming along the shores of a lagoon, on a very small island, where Pidge lived, when she spooked him by leaping out of the water, and down on his back. 

“Boo!”

She shouted as the two went underwater, and then came back to the surface, laughing and splashing each other with their tails. 

“Real mature Pidgeon!”

Keith said as the two swam for the lagoon, perching on the smooth, large, and long rocks. Pidge lugged herself onto the largest rock, her bright green siren tail hanging over the edge of the rock, and Keith leaning on his arms, over the edge of the rock. 

“So, let me guess? You couldn’t find your human, Lance again?”

Pidge asked and Keith nodded, his head on his knuckles. 

“Yep, I don’t get it. He says that he will come back to me, and he promises and then for two full moon cycles, he doesn’t show up at all. I just don’t get it, I should never have trusted a human Pidge!”

Keith said and the siren sighed, sitting up and looking at her friend, her face in full focus. 

“Well, if you’re really desperate you can use those cool hybrid powers you have to find Lance.”

She said and Keith shrugged his shoulders, never even pondering that possibility. He had never tried using those powers, but from what he had heard from Pidge’s brother Matt, the rules were pretty simple and straightforward. 

All he had to do was stay away from water or else he would turn back into a mer. It only worked during the day and when the sun set, he would get his tail back. It was pretty simple, and with the fact that he still had all of his powers that he could use on land.

”You’re right Pidge, I could try that, but I don’t even know where he lives or anything by his name.”

He said and Pidge nodded, leaning on her arm. 

“Yeah, but you do know what he looks like. You can ask someone about that to find him.”

She said and Keith nodded, his dorsal fin swaying in the water, the side fins twitching with the possibility of seeing Lance again. 

“But what about clothes? I know that humans have to wear them and last time I checked, I don’t have any clothes to wear.”

He said and Pidge nodded her head and slipped back into the water of the lagoon, and waited for Keith to slip in after her, which he did. 

“C’mon Keith, let’s go find out how this hybrid thing works.”

Keith looked after his friend and rolled his eyes as she went underwater. Not wanting to fall behind, Keith dove in after her.   
  


Lance knew that he was letting his Kitten down by not staying at the beach long, but he always looked over the entire stretch of the beach, and not once did he find the beautiful crimson scaled merman in the shallows. 

In fact, it had almost been two months since he had met his Kitten and promised him that he would come back the next day. 

He finally had gotten off of work at a small coffee shop down on the water at 2:00 in the afternoon, and was walking down the sidewalk from his apartment, to the market. When he went in, Lance picked up a basket, as he only needed to get spices for Hunk and he was thirsty and wanted a case of La Croix. He was in the soda and juice aisle, looking to see if they had his favorite kind of La Croix when he saw a guy looking at the other sodas. 

The guy had his back to Lance, but the Cuban could see that the guy was well built and strong. He had on a pair of black skinny jeans, a tight navy blue shirt, a pair of boots, and a red and white cropped jacket on. His hair was what got Lance interested. 

Pitch black and down to his neck, past his ears fluffy, and wavy. The guy had a fucking mullet, and said mullet made Lance think about his merman, and how his hair was so silky and smooth, soft under his fingers. 

What made Lance angry with the himself was that the guy was super cute, like really cute, even though Lance couldn’t see his face or anything, he was cute despite the mullet. 

The guy turned to walk past Lance, who turned to the refrigerators, to bend over and grab a case of La Croix, only to feel the guy bump right into him, grunting lowly, and starting to walk away again, not looking back. 

“Hey, watch where you’re going Mullet-head, you could’ve hurt m—Kitten?”

Lance had turned around and begun to sass the guy. Mullet turned around and looked at Lance, their eyes meeting and the mer looking shocked, though not as much as Lance. 

“Lance? Is it you?”

He asked and Lance, nearly dropping his basket, rushed to his mer and pulled him into a warm hug. The mer fit perfectly in his arms, his arms coming up and securing around his shoulders and gripping him tight. 

“Oh Kitten, I’m so sorry that I couldn’t find you.”

Lance said into his Kitten’s neck, still smelling the same, but feeling weird with the addition of clothes on his body and not bare skin.

”It’s Keith.”

  
  
  


Keith couldn’t believe that Lance was right there in front of him, holding him, talking to him, and sorry that he couldn’t find him. He held onto Keith with the promise that he would never let the mer go and that he world always protect him from anyone who would even try to hurt him. 

He didn’t know what made him do it, names hold power Keith, what’s going on with you? But he did and his name rolled out of his mouth and now Lance was pulling back. 

“What did you say kitten?”

Lance asked and Keith repeated himself, saying his name again. 

“It’s Keith. My name is Keith.”

He said and Lance was quiet for a few moments and then he smiled. His face became even more beautiful and he gently stroked the side of Keith’s face, his fingers splayed across the pretty milky skin.   
  


Keith. 

His kitten’s name was Keith, and boy did it suit him. He was so cute when he blushed Lance continued to notice as he told him his name.

”Keith. It’s a beautiful name for a beautiful mer.”

Lance said and Keith blushed so red, it was almost the same shade as his scales on his face. Speaking of scales and tails, Lance looked Keith up and down twice before his eyes grew wide. 

‘Wait, what the fuck? He is a merman, how does he have legs?’

Lance asked himself numerous times, before looking back at Keith, and slipping his hand into his. He picked up his basket and looked at Keith.

”Come with me Keith, and when we get to the front, wait for me outside the door, ok?”

Lance asked and Keith nodded silently, following Lance to the front of the market and when Lance stopped at the cash register, he let go of Keith’s hand, and the mer walked to the doors, and waited outside. 

When Lance had paid and walked out the market, he found that Keith was gone from where Lance had told him to wait for him. 

“Keith? Where did you go? Keith?!”

Lance whisper shouted and started looking around for Keith. He started walking around the parking lot, looking for Keith. When Lance opened his car trunk and put the case of La Croix and Hunk’s spices into the trunk, he saw the flash of pitch black hair and milky pale skin.

Keith was wandering towards the road, awe all over his beautiful face. Lance got into his car and hit the gas. He drove to where Keith was and stopped him from moving off of the curb. 

“I thought I told you to wait for me outside the door kitten?”

He asked and Keith blushed shyly, covering his face with his fluffy black hair. 

“Sorry Lance.”

He said and Lance smiled softly at him, unlocking the passenger door and opening it for Keith.

”Get in kitten.”

He said and while furiously blushing his face red, Keith nodded and lowered himself into Lance’s car, closing the door and looking around the interior in complete awe. Lance smiled at his cute face and leaned over, buckling his seatbelt, his eyes catching sight of a small bulge in his kitten’s jeans. As he sat back up, Lance had a thought. 

“Keith, how did you get legs?”

He asked, starting to drive again, and Keith blushed again, running a hand through his hair. 

“My mom was a mer and my dad was a human. So I’m a hybrid of mer and human and can walk on land during the day. But when the sun goes down, I turn back into a mer.”

He said and Lance nodded, his face wrinkling up as he rolled down a window, letting the sea air in. 

“Is that all I should know about this a walking on land thing?”

He asked and Keith nodded his head, fidgeting in his seat. 

“I also can’t get wet or else I turn back in ten seconds.”

He said and Lance nodded, pulling into a parking spot and turning off the car, and getting his seatbelt off. He turned to face Keith and gazed into those violet eyes of his. Keith looked a little embarrassed and tried to hide himself from Lance, and tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear, which looked pointed like when he was mer but not with his scales. 

"What are you looking at?" Keith questioned Lance who merely chuckled. 

"Just taking in every gorgeous feature of the mer next to me." He said and Keith blushed bright red and turned his head away, blabbering to himself in a language that Lance could only assume was mer. Lance chuckled again and got out of the car, grabbing his bag from the trunk, and came around to Keith in the passenger seat of the car. He held out his hand to the mer who looked at it curiously.

"Come with me Keith, the sun is going to set in about an hour and you need to be somewhere safe when it does. Like my apartment for example, and don't worry I'll be there to help you if you need me."

Lance said and slowly but surely, Keith slid his hand into Lance's and the human lead the mer out of the car and into the apartment that Lance shared with his friend Hunk. Lance was trying to keep his eyes ahead of him, leading Keith around through a world that he didn't understand, but he was having a hard time with the mer holding his hand tightly and that their hands were perfectly fitted together. It was like their hands had been made to hold each other in safety as Lance held Keith's hand.

Keith meanwhile was having a hard time with just physical parts of his body that he had never had while he was a mer, like he had to walk on the legs and had spent two full hours in the seacave with Pidge just learning how to stand. Then there was the part about the human parts of him that made no sense to him and that hung around and bounced as he walked until Pidge forced him into these tight shorts, and even tighter black pants. They were much like the ones Lance had worn the first time the two met, but they were black like his hair. The parts of his body were feeling really weird to Keith as Lance held his hand, like the largest part between his legs was growing hard and stiff. He hoped that Lance would tell him about the strange things happening to him when they got into the warmth of Lance's apartment and could talk in private.

Lance opened the door to his apartment and lead Keith inside, there was a long and cushioned piece of furniture in the middle of the room, that faced a TV, and a kitchen across from the front door, a hallway leading to rooms and the bathroom in the hall, next to a door that was painted a dark and navy blue. Lance set the bag on the kitchen counter, letting go of Keith's hand and putting away the spices for Hunk and his case of bubbly La Croix into the fridge and the cabinets above the counters. 

"C'mon Keith, let me show you my room where I can get you comfortable to transform tonight, ok?"

Lance asked and Keith nodded, allowing himself to be lead into the hall and to the navy blue painted door at the end of the hall, next to the bathroom. When Lance was about to open the door to his room, another door opened from the room down the hall from Lance and another human was staring at Lance and Keith from his doorway. Keith studied him and could see that he was safe, calm, warm, a good hugger, and had a bubbly and sweet personality, his hair was dark brown and tied behind a yellow sash. He was wearing a set of yellow pjs and had skin that was dark like Lance's but not as beautiful as Lance's, his body was large and he seemed chubby but strong. 

"Lance, did you get me my spices for my dinner date with Shay or did you just go to the club and bring home some douche?" Asked the guy and Lance stiffened, pulling Keith closer to him and tightening his hold on the mer. 

"Yes Hunk, this is Keith, the one I was telling you about. He's not a douche but the cutest and sweetest guy I've ever met, Keith this is Hunk my roommate and chef to be." Lance said and nudged Keith forward, to meet Hunk who held out an enthusiastic hand to the guy who he thought was human but was actually a mer, and they shook hands. Hunk smiled at Keith and took his hand away, stepped away, smiling like a bastard at both Lance and Keith, and put a hand to his door and began to close it. 

"Well I'll leave you two to it. Be safe Lance." Hunk said before closing his door and leaving Lance and Keith in the hall, Lance feeling very awkward now. 

Keith looked at Lance with confusion written all over his face. 

"Why did Hunk just start acting all weird?

"Don't worry about it, he is just like that sometimes, now let's go to my room ok?" Lance asked and with Keith's nod, grabbed his hand and lead him into his bedroom, a decent sized room with a full sized bed. It had navy blue sheets and blue LED lights along the walls, a rug around the bed and the small desk in the corner next to the dresser and Lance's closet. Lance let go of Keith's hand and walked over to his bed, kicking off his shoes and sitting on the bed, running a hand through his soft brown hair. Keith had no idea what to do, so he began to walk around the room and look at all of the things that Lance had in his room, while Lance was taking off his jacket.

"I've never been in a human's cove before. This is so amazing Lance." said Keith and Lance looked up. 

He smiled at the mer and stood up, walking over to Keith and putting his hands around his shoulders, resting his chin on the slope of Keith's neck where it met his shoulder. The mer turned his head and Lance saw the blush erupting all the way down to Keith's ears and below his shirt. Lance began to sway the two of them from side to side and Keith sighed softly from the movements that Lance was leading him in from behind. He brought his hands up and wrapped them around Lance's wrists, leaning his head on Lance's chest and closing his eyes. 

"This is nice Lance. Is this a normal thing that humans do with each other?" Keith asked.

Lance shook his head and tightened his hold around Keith. The mer turned his head behind and faced Lance, their noses only inches apart from one another. Lance made a strangled noise and abruptly leapt away from Keith, recoiling towards the bed and leaning against the mattress, covering his lap. Keith was confused and went forward to Lance, and bent over, leaning over his chest with his eyes curious and worried. 

"Are you ok Lance, did I hurt you? What happened?" Keith asked innocently while Lance tried to keep his cool and not tell the mer what was going on in his jeans. 

"Nothing kitten, I'm fine but just give me a minute and help yourself to anything in the kitchen." Lance hurried and and shot up, as Keith got closer and closer to his crotch. Lance ran into the bathroom and closed and locked the door, with Keith coming into the hall and looking at the door with a confused look on his face at the closed door, concealing him from Lance. Then, the door behind him opened and Hunk walked out, no longer in his pjs but in regular human clothes. He smiled at Keith, who turned around and when his saw the smile, he returned it. 

"Hunk, can I ask you a question?" Keith asked following Hunk into the kitchen and sitting on the counter behind the larger human as he began to open cabinets and take out stuff and put them on the counter. 

"Sure Keith, what's up?"

"How do humans get aroused?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drop me a comment and let me know what you think 🤔

**Author's Note:**

> Drop me a comment and let me know what you think 🤔


End file.
